Former racing driver Mario Andretti is famously quoted saying "If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough." Car manufacturers are making sure that their customers are going fast enough by challenging each other to have the fastest car in the world. The Bugatti Veyron was the first production car that reached 400 km/h, but today the competitors have topped this record. We've put together a list of the fastest cars based on measured top speed, not theoretical top speed. Read on to discover which cars will ensure that things never quite seem under control.
5. SSC Ultimate Aero (413 km/h)
We start this list with a very special, yet not very well known supercar. It is a twin-turbo powered V8 supercar that can go from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.7 seconds. This SSC, formerly known as Shelby SuperCars, overthrew the Bugatti Veyron as the king of speed in 2007. The SSC needed 182HP more than the 1,001HP Bugatti to achieve this. SSC had the record until 2010 when Bugatti took over the lead again with the Bugatti Veyron Super Sports. In retaliation, SSC developed a completely new supercar, named Tuatara, but they are yet to test the top speed of that car.
4. Bugatti Chiron (420 km/u)
The next car is a further developed Bugatti Veyron. The Bugatti Chiron has the same massive 16.4 litre W16 engine which produces in this case 1,479HP. Bugatti updated the design of its new supercar, but it has still a lot in common with the Veyron. The Chiron is limited to a top speed of 420 km/h for safety reasons. Otherwise the Chiron would have ranked a lot higher on this list - its estimated top speed is 463 km/h. The Chiron sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in a stunning 2.4 seconds and set a world record of the fastest car to complete a 0-400-0 km/h test. The Chiron did 0-400 km/h in 32,6 seconds and needed 9,4 seconds to brake to standstill again. Unfortunately for Bugatti, this record was smashed by over 5 seconds, but we'll get to that later in this list.
3. Bugatti Veyron Super Sport (431 km/h)
The third place goes to the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport. The Super Sport has the same 8-litre W16 with 4 turbos as the first Veyron to break the speed record in 2005 at 407 km/h. To prevent overheating at these high speeds, this car is fitted with 10 radiators to cool all the different oils and fluids. The Super Sports produces 1,200HP, almost 200HP more than the ‘normal’ Veyron. All of this power came together to push the car to 431 km/h. The production cost for each Veyron was around €5 million and they were sold for around €1 million. This massive loss meant that after construction 450 Veyrons, production stopped. And thus ends Bugatti's reign as the fastest production car on the road.
2. Hennessey Venom GT (435 km/h)
A new player enters the area taking the number 2 spot on our list. The second fastest car in the world is the Hennessey Venom GT. With a 7-litre, twin-turbo V8 producing 1.244HP, this car reached a top speed of 435 km/h in a test. But if the test track, a 3.3-mile long NASA runway, was longer, they could reach an even higher speed.
1. Koenigsegg Agera RS (444,6 km/h)
The fastest production car in the world is from a Swedish car manufacturer. Surprised? The Koenigsegg Agera RS set an official Guiness Book of world record of a top speed of 444.6 km/h! They accomplished this by closing an 11-mile section of a public highway between Las Vegas and Pahrump. To make the record official, the did two runs in both directions of the section. On the first run the Koenigsegg achieved a top speed of 458 km/h and on the way back with fighting an uphill gradient and a strong headwind it did 436 km/h. These records are set by a car with a 5-litre twin-turbo V8 with 1,360HP. It is the same car that earlier on broke the 0-400-0 km/h test with 36,44 seconds against 42 seconds for the Bugatti Chiron.
The highest top speed competition will probably never end and it's only a matter of time before another supercar manufacturer comes up with a car with a top speed of 500 km/h or more. These cars are very exclusive and are not often for sale. But we host Classic Car auctions every week featuring hundreds of stunning motors waiting to find a new owner. So why not explore our auctions and who knows? Maybe you’ll find your own dream car! Catawiki is a great platform not only for buying, but also for selling. With just one account, you can also sell classic cars and other special objects.